Slowly Fading Pink
by Bleachigo15
Summary: Sakura is torn between her love for the village and her love for the man of her dreams. Finally making the decision that shocks everyone, Naruto, along with Team Kakashi and others, are determined to get her back. (horrible summary) xD
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: I have no idea where this is going. No clue whatsoever. But when I improvise fanfics like this, it always ends up being somewhat presentable. I figure out a plot halfway through, miracles happen, and TA-DA. So, enjoy.**

**Author's Note 2: This story takes place around the beginnings of the 4th GNW, when Sakura was giving everyone that bull that she was gunna kill Sasuke. It was the one time that I was on Sasuke's side. Kinda AU, kinda not.**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, NaruSasu would be a thing already. But I don't. So.**

**Chapter 1**

**The Uchiha**

Raven hair flutters in the slow breeze as the young man dashed through the wilderness of the sunlit forest, desperately chasing after the man who he swore on his ancestors he would kill. Branches curl downward in a futile attempt to slow him down. His eyes flash red before quickly sidestepping the obstacles. A black cloak with the occasionally red cloud jumps over a large bush before making sharp left. Narrowed Sharingan eyes follow his movements with dangerously increasing anger. The younger Uchiha grunts before his fingers fly into jutsu signs. He closes his eyes briefly before letting a stream of fire unleash from his mouth and explode upon reaching the dry bush. Green immediately wilts into black, leaving not a trace of the foliage which stood once before. Without batting an eyelash, the raven haired teen was on his way once more, resuming his pursue into the large forest once more.

The footsteps in front of the young Uchiha abruptly stop, allowing for him to catch up. Although out of breath, the younger managed to glare at his cloaked nemesis. "Itachi," he managed to growl, eyes narrowed into slits. "What are you doing here?"

The only answer the teen received in return was a brief blowing of the wind, blowing their hair to the west. Patience wearing thin, the Uchiha heir gave a loud tsk before preparing for another jutsu. Just as lightning was about to sizzle around the powered up heir, Itachi speaks. "Foolish little brother..."

"Don't screw with me!" Sasuke yells. His fisted hand is cloaked in large bolts of lightening, his anger the only fuel. Gritting his teeth, Sasuke runs up to his elder brother, hate burning brightly in his eyes.

Itachi turns slowly to the quickly approaching threat, his true countenance covered with a cool indifferent mask...or so Sasuke thought. His hatred-filled eyes met with Itachi's Mangekyou ones, and the world seemed to bend away from under his feet, casting an unused Chidori and Uchiha into the darkness of the earth. A teardrop landed on his face as he fell into the abyss, but as to its origin, Sasuke could only wonder.

"Oi, Sasuke, are you awake?" Zetsu poked the teen awake, looming over his sleeping form on the stiff bed.

The interruption brought his dream to an erupt halt, and with a groan the Uchiha heir stirred, his dark locks sticking out in every direction but down. Rubbing the sleep from his face, Sasuke's sleepy eyes wandered around the small cavern with distaste. Although he had never regretted coming to the Akatsuki, they could had at least provided some quality rooms, rather than dank, small, and web infested ones. Darkness surrounded him until a quick fire jutsu lit a nearby torch hanging on the wall. Zetsu's flytrap banged him in the head as the half asleep teen attempted to sit up, amusing both Zetsus greatly. Scowling, Sasuke dragged himself out of bed, away from the freak of nature towering over him. Why in the world was he watching him in my sleep, that imbecile, Sasuke thought darkly to himself, rubbing his forehead absent-mindedly, I'll kill him.

"Sasuke. Where are you going?" The darker of the Zetsus questioned as Sasuke slipped into darker attire than usual.

Not bothering to dignify the inquiry with a response, Sasuke simply continued to dress, clad in a color similar to his hair. Noticing the air around the shinobi grow colder, the Zetsus wisely kept quiet as the teen finished off his outfit with a concealing dark cloak. "I'll be out for a bit," the Uchiha simply stated before vanishing into smoke. The darker Zetsu blew air through his nostril. "What do we do now? We were told to keep watch over him." A shrugged shoulder and an unreassuring chuckle later, his counterpart responded. "Maybe we should send a double to follow him."

"He'll sense that. It's too obvious." Zestu narrows his one golden eye. "Something else."

The paler half of him pales further. "I-I don't know..."

"Useless," was the curt response, and before White Zetsu could whine further, the mostly unused door to Sasuke's bedroom opened. Artificial light poured into the opening, followed by a tall figure in the Akatsuki's known wear. An orange mask with thin lines swirl toward the circle of his right eyehole disguises the face of the leader of the Akatsuki, whose undeceiving eyes sweep the room with a narrowed Sharingan. "Where is Sasuke?"

Both Zetsus shrug off the question. The lighter speaks. "He just suddenly disappeared without a trace."

The leader's deep voice rolls off the cramped walls. "I see." With a flair of his flowing cape, he is gone, killing off the only other light in the dark room as he closes the door with surprising delicacy. Zetsu, seeing no sense in staying any longer, vanishes into the shadows of the floor below.

Sunlight streams through the small crack in Naruto's window, illuminating the sleeping blond's face. Groaning loudly, the young man turned away from the sunlight, snuggling in the warmth of his thick blanket. Not a second after he settled in, the alarm clock near his bed went off, sending waves of unwanted noise over the sensitive sleep-worn ears of the sleeping teen. Sitting up with a start, the blond glared at the alarm clock, slamming a fist to turn it off. It read 8:00 AM, an hour prior to when the Hokage wanted to meet with him. Why the Fifth had wanted him to wake up at such an ungodly hour, one could only ponder. Wondering about the strange request the older woman gave him, he finally pulled himself out of bed, tiredness screaming at him to return.

The silence that filed his house was a comforting one, as Naruto had come to love in the early mornings. Sunlight filed through a nearby window, giving his small apartment a more comforting vibe. Naruto looked around his house with lonely eyes, wondering how different it would be if his parents had lived. Would he wake up to the smell of his mother making pancakes each morning? Would he see his father already wide awake, busy filling out paperwork and fulfilling duties as the busy man he was? Naruto could only wonder. Ever since meeting his parents subconsciously, seeing their happiness at his growth and upbringing, something within the blond had awakened. As if seeing for the first time that he had parents who loved him with their whole heart, watching over him day after day. Wether or not he could see them, they could see him- it was exhilarating.

He had to make them proud.

Instead of the usual ramen, Naruto pulled out a variety of fruits and vegetables. After rinsing the colorful food, he cut them up and threw the concoction into a blender, spicing it up with orange juice. As the smoothie blended, Naruto found bagels and jam to complete the breakfast. Naruto could almost feel his mother crying out of joy, watching him eat something healthy for once. Smiling to himself, the silence of the house began to give way to the quiet hum of the happy teen.

"Naruto, you're late." Narrowed cinnamon eyes drilled holes into the shinobi's head, an eyebrow arched in question. "May I ask why?"

The Hokage's office was filled with warm rays of the sun, blinding Naruto to the point of pain. Squinting against the glare, his brought a tanned hand to help shade some of the brightness. Everything in the office became a lighter shade of its original color, and it gave the area an angelic glow. Distracted, the orange clad teen glanced around the room, his eyes connecting with everything except for the Fifth's.

A scratch behind his wild yellow hair and one shrug later, Naruto responded. "I have no excuse, Tsunade-obaachan. I just..." He trailed off. The blue eyes that were as bright as the sun a second prior suddenly dimmed. Tsunade opened her glossed mouth, about to the give the ninja more grief, before Shizune burst in her office, her state of being anywhere but normal.

Officially ticked, the busty woman stood up abruptly, her aura darkened. "Shizune!" She snapped loudly. "Did or did I not tell you-!"

"It's Sakura," Shizune wheezes, her breathing uneven. "She g-gave me a drug that k-k-knocked me out for w-who knows how long. I d-don't know w-what else she put in it, b-but I feel s-sick..." Naruto's eyes widened at the announcement, and the blond woman behind him fell silent. Shizune continued, her face growing paler by the second.

"S-she told me..." Shizune stutters, leaning heavily on the doorframe to the office. Her breaths became more filled with liquid than air, and in a flash Tsunade lowered the slowly dying body in the floor, administering a healing jutsu to the woman's shuddering chest. Hard, cool eyes narrowed as the difficulty of the healing intensified. "Don't speak anymore, Shizune," she whispers, focusing all of her chakra on the task at hand.

The entire room seems to pulsate with the sick woman's shuddering breaths, each interval getting wider and wider. "Tsunade...-sama...t-there's some...thing y-you need to k-k-know..." Shizune sputters, struggling to pronounce each word. "Sakura...s-she's w-with..."

"I told you not to talk, idiot!" Tsunade barks, silently cursing at the tears that rolled down her cheeks.

"...Sa...su...ke..."

Silence fills the room as the information sinks in. Shizune takes a final, painful breath before sagging under the green glow of Tsunade's healing hands. The female blond becomes still. A small sound similar to a hiccup escapes the woman's mouth, and, gritting her teeth, continues the jutsu. Naruto looks on the scene with a heavy heart, shifting his eyes away from the corpse. No words he can think of will be able to revive Tsunade's dying heart. The silence looms over the two and seems to settle comfortingly as the Hokage continued to heal and silently grieve over her fallen subordinate.

The Fifth's soft words are so elusive that Naruto had to walk forward on heavy legs in order to hear the quiet woman. "Naruto...the mission I had originally assigned you is now null and void..."

The Uzumaki's eyebrows furrowed for a completely different reason other than the rarity of a cancelled mission. Tsunade's voice was slow, dark, and had a malicious undertone. "Naruto," she whispers, sounding out his name with refined clarity, "I am going to send you on a new mission." She turned and stared at Naruto, her features carrying a darkness to them.

Naruto stood at attention, his eyes clouded over while staring at the new and 'improved' Hokage of the Fire Country. It was not a pretty sight. Her eyes were narrowed and lifeless, the light that once adorned them are now completely extinguished. Her pale cheeks began to sag slightly, as if the jutsu holding them up was wearing off. Her glossed lips were now tugged downward in an frown that would make a grown man cry. All in all, she looked like a tired and saddened old woman.

Unable to speak at the sight of this weakness, Naruto attempted to swallow but came to no avail. He remained silent and waited for his next orders. Her long bangs shielded her face from his as she spit out her next words. "I am assigning Team Kakashi, with the addition of Hinata, Kiba, and Shikamaru, on this extremely important mission that must be carried out immediately."

Speechless, Naruto just stared at her, his slow mind still unable to process the events that had just occurred. Sakura did what?

"This will be classified as a Rank S Mission!" Tsunade yells as she stands up. She turns to me with an angry and determined face, with the slighted hint of sadness behind her tough, unbreakable mask. But this time, there was a crack.

Tears ran down her face as she gritted her teeth, practically growling her next words. Naruto, unable to take in the unmasked Tsunade, took a step back.

"Bring me Haruno Sakura immediately!"

**So, how you like? Not really, somewhat, not at all? Review me anyway, they taste like skittles *^* I am not the best writer in the world, but, hey, I try. Please look at my other stories...that I should at least attempt to update xD. Thanks for reading! Ja ne!~**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Thanks for the views and review! I really appreciate it. Thanks for sticking to this story, guys!**

**Author's Note 2: I have no idea where this is going, but I like this chapter. Might be a "Friendship is Magic" Fic. I doubt it though, bc we get enough of it in the anime lawl. Wanted to go for NaruSasu, but I don't think it will happen. Ships in this are pretty obvious. xD**

**Disclaimer: Naruto Shippuden is not mine. If it was, manga wouldn't have ended :'( **

**P.S. I'm an anime-only watcher. Yes, they still exist.**

Chapter 2

The Cherry Blossom

Wind flies through the messy, spiked hair of the sleepy, yet determined Uchiha, jumping from tree to tree with increasing vigor. The young man had sensed an all too familiar chakra approaching the Akatsuki hideout, one he hadn't felt since the time he wanted to extinguish it forever. Why? Why had she returned to him, after all the obvious refusals to return to Konoha? Why wasn't the girl with Naruto? The idiot came alone? Is she on a suicide mission? Questions flooded his brain as Sasuke picked up his speed, diminishing his presence as he came closer.

Red saw pink before pink saw red. Sharingan eyes swept over her running form; bright emerald eyes narrowed in anger and short, bubblegum locks flew behind her in the sharp wind. She wore not her original attire, but the Jounin flak jacket with dark pants, undershirt, and a black pouch on her thigh; standard Konoha wear. Her head protector was nowhere to be seen.

Her arms were behind her as she ran faster than the raven haired had ever seen her before. Strong thighs pounded into the earth and, with the help of chakra, made her strides longer and wider. Narrowing his curious eyes, he began to descend and meet her, slowly revealing his presence. At the slight sensation of nearby chakra, Sakura Haruno decelerated immediately, drawing three kunai from her pouch and holding them at the ready in Sasuke's direction.

"Show yourself, cretin," she demands with a cold voice. Her narrowed, steel eyes dart around in an effort to find a face. "Don't make me find you, bastard."

Blinking at her new vocabulary, Sasuke obediently reveals himself. Dropping from the trees, he found himself on the receiving end of Sakura's hate-filled glare. Somewhat surprised the kunoichi could make such a face, the Uchiha looked at her with distaste.

"What is stopping me from killing you, here and now?" The Uchiha heir asked, the shadows on his face having grown longer.

The pink haired ninja simply stared at him, avoiding his bright eyes, her face screaming disgust and hatred. Her shaking hand began to form a fist, cloaked in bright blue chakra. Sakura's head lowered as she switched into an offensive stance. His Sharingan had not missed the action, and he immediately began forming a Chidori. For the shake of his pride, the raven haired man refused to speak until his opponent had responded. He simply stared back into her eyes, waiting for the dim light in them to reveal what her next action was.

Minutes pass, and the couple do not speak. Wisely, Sakura's eyes avoided his activated Sharingan. Finally, after gritting her teeth and taking, the kunoichi straightened from her fighting stance. The pink-haired girl's face became nonchalant as she made an attempt at 'conversation'. "Tch. Where's the rest of them?"

Eyeing her suspiciously, Sasuke replied, "You never answered my question...Sakura." Within the blink of an eye, he had the young woman by her neck, squeezing tightly. "You should listen when someone talks to you." Sakura does nothing as her passageway for air is slowly crushed. The Chunin simply stares at the Uchiha. Is that...a smile?

"Oi, scoundrel. Ask politely when you want someone to talk to you."

Huh?

Sasuke barely had time to register his old friend behind him before searing pain erupts in his chest and blossoms into outright agony. Writhing, the Uchiha fell to the floor, an unrecognizable sound escaping from his dry lips. It somehow sounded like a scream. Weakly reaching for his cold chest, he came back with dark blood on his pale hands. Feeling quickly and tenderly around the area, his sharp, yet pain dulled mind concluded his was stabbed with a kunai, and said kunai was dragged through him, creating a jagged foot and a half cut on his chest. Breathing became difficult as liquid slowly filled his lungs.

This was not happening. This could not possibly happen.

"Heh. Who would've expected an Uchiha to not tell the difference between a woman and a log? Pathetic," Sakura laughs, looking down upon the young man.

Hissing, the young man attempted to get up, but found that he couldn't. As if his body's mobility was robbed. The raven haired teen widened his eyes as he realized how this came to be.

"Immobilizing formula. Made it myself. It's amazing how far a little at the end of a kunai can go," the healer says before moving around the still body at her feet. Upon reaching his arms, she crouches.

Sakura healed him only to the point where the raven haired did not have to worry about dying young. Then, working quickly with the bloodied weapon, she cut deep into the teen's hands, hindering him from using a jutsu. Tuning out his colorful curses, her quick, expert hands formed a string-like rope out of chakra and began to bind his bloodied hands with them. Continuing to avoid the red eyes of her opponent, Sakura placed a spare cloth over his narrowed eyes, triple knotting the ends in the back. She finished off the capture by binding the Uchiha's feet in the same fashion as his hands. Roughly picking him up by the waist, she slings the man upon her shoulders as one would with baggage. Sakura stands for several moments, getting the feel of the new weight on her shoulders and heart before running into the shade of the trees.

"Naruto, Sai, Kakashi, Hinata, Kiba, Shikamaru!" Tsunade barks at the gathered group. "Have your supplies and materials ready and packed in ten minutes! I shall be waiting near the gates at 10 PM for your return! Dismissed!"

"Yes, m'Lady," was the response before the ninja exited they empty office with the same troubled expression adorning their faces. Naruto in particular, who had witnessed the now public murder of Shizune in person, had extremely dead eyes. Sadness rolled off him in waves, dimming the light of the once radiant sun. As if feeling the sudden lack of warmth, Hinata stole a glance at Naruto and, noticing the teen's distress, placed a small hand on his orange shoulder. His lowered blue eyes found her reassuring pale ones. For a little bit, they simply stared at each other. Exchanging silent words, the Hyuuga backed away from the blonde, giving him a small smile before returning to her things at her home. Naruto watched her retreating back with a mix of gratitude and something else he could not specifically place before turning to his own home to pack for the long and difficult mission.

Ten minutes seem to pass within the blink of an eye, slipping through the unaware mind of the blonde as sand through fingers. Before he knew it, Naruto Uzumaki was late. Grabbing the last of his smoke bombs and stuffing them in the pack on his backside, the ninja leapt through his window and onto the rooftops of nearby houses in the pale light provided by the moon. Although he was only a mere five minutes late (according to Kiba, he might as well not come, since only Genins are late to such important missions), he was still well scolded, followed by tensing for a hit on the back of the head. When it never came, and Naruto realized why, he kept his head down as the Hokage went over last minute details of their mission.

Bright moonlight shines to the east, casting the gates of Konoha in a brilliant radiance that only through nature could be achieved. The night sky was a beautiful navy blue, rich and filled with stars. Yet, a small group of ninja wasted this beautiful occurrence by preparing to go on a dangerous mission. A blonde woman stood in the gates, hands placed on her wide hips. She cast dark shadows on the pure, untainted ground upon which the moonlight shone. In front of her stood the squad of six which the mission was to be carried out by.

She spoke quickly. "There is no time right now. You all are to complete three things on this mission. First, find Haruno Sakura and bring her back to the Village Hidden in the Leaves." The shinobi tense as the Hokage uttered the words, for the same words, more or less, were used to bring Sasuke back into the village.

It is more than known as to how that affair turned out.

The busty woman continued, "Secondly, discover her location, which, according to information we were able to gather, is most likely with the Akatsuki. After confirming, send a messenger bird on your situation."

Narrowed honey eyes surveyed the crowd of skilled ninja for any questions thus far before continuing. "Lastly, if you confront the before mentioned targets, I hereby give you my permission to engage in battle. Is this understood?"

Shock ripples through the small crowd. Engage in combat? What was Tsunade thinking? Naruto peers at the elder, monitoring her actions closely. Her narrowed eyes still have an undertone of sadness and hatred, yet they continue to shine artificial light at the ninja. Her arms were crossed, and her expression was more than enough evidence to convince Naruto that she was serious.

"Yes ma'am," was the response heard. Pursing her glossed lips slightly, Tsunade steps aside to make way for the Genin, Chunins, and Jounin. As they gather to make final preparations to depart, granddaughter of the First looks over at them with worry in her dead eyes. "Be careful. Come back alive," she whispers as the group finally disappears into the chilly night air. Seeming to be the only one who heard the woman, Naruto flashes her a quick grin before jumping into the dark, rustling trees outside the village, out of sight.

...

Silently, Kakashi, Naruto, Sai, Shikamaru, Hinata, and Kiba make their way through the dense leaves, maneuvering around the thick trees with ease. Of course, their familiarity with the area helped, but one could even forget their own country's layout when thinking of their difficult mission. Especially a quiet and brooding blonde. Said man was contemplating darkly about something, his eyes laid low and glaring. In the darkness, no one took notice of the blonde's bleak countenance due to his normal chakra level- all but with the exception of one. Dark brows furrowed in worry, as she took in the tense way Naruto landed on branches, and the sharp way as to how he took off. Closing her eyes momentarily, the Hyuuga jumped in a way as to travel alongside the troubled teen.

Lifeless azsure eyes noted the close distance between the two before she tapped his shoulder lightly. Understanding wordlessly, the orange clad young man ceased in his tense landings, gradually returning to a more graceful stance when flying through the air. He undid all the knots he tied into his muscles, and, upon reaching the next branch, landed easily and swiftly before taking off again with normal vigor. Darkness concealed the exchange of signs, if one were to call them that, and the black haired girl counted her blessings. Hinata was unable to do such things to Naruto in public, and even the thought of simply touching the blonde on the shoulder sent her mind into overdrive. At least privately, she could convey her words to Naruto without causing a scene and having all eyes trained on her.

Naruto felt eased through Hinata's subtle touch, much more so than he had let on. After fixing and resolving the situation, he had, still facing forward, given a small nod, barely perceived by the naked eye. But he knew Hinata well enough to know she received the small message, especially so due to her active eyes. He could practically feel the sunlight of her smile tear through the blackness concealing them before she moved back to her original position.

Unbeknownst to the couple, a certain masked ninja was eyeing the two, amusement dancing in his coal orbs and knowing, close lipped smile.

Hours have passed since their fight, and Sasuke was still seething. Sakura ran on, apparently oblivious to her prey's lividness. As to how this woman could subdue him so easily pissed him off into next week. Fighting the temptation to curse his pink haired captor into hell, beyond, and back, she suddenly stops running, her chest heaving with the burden of carrying him for miles on end. Despite his anger, something in the far recesses of his mind was clearly impressed with Sakura's improvement from the time they were comrades.

Sasuke killed it within the next second.

Throwing him down would not be the correct term to use as to how rough the kunoichi handled the Uchiha. The healer all out flings him onto the rugged terrain, as a child would do with a backpack upon coming home from school. Grunting against the pain of sharp rocks sinking into his skin, Sasuke glowered at her through his blindfold. Never would he have imagined himself in this predicament. Not only was he away from the haven Akatsuki hideout, but he was captured; the deed carried out by none other than Haruno Sakura, his old teammate. She had quite the intelligence to come up with the ridiculously clever plan as to not only defeat him, but confine him afterwards as well. Tsking, he ended his short internal monologue to hear what she was saying.

"Sasuke," she said in a softer voice than what she had once used with me earlier. "I need your help."

**Like, no? Review me plz, it makes me very happy! :) Thanks for reading this story. I just realized how fun it is to write Sasuke, so guaranteed that there's gonna be a NaruSasu story in the future. And because I had recently finished SAO 1 and 2, a story will be coming up with a Kirito x Asuna/Kirito x Sinon story coming soon. Please look forward to my other works! Get ready for ch 3...ja ne~ **


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